By Ee-Lynn & Simon Kew
The Daughter’s Perspective – Ee-Lynn
The last Parents’ Appreciation Night that happened was back in 2018 when I was just 13 years old and it had been such a long time since then. Now as an 18 year old, I had the opportunity of being in the planning committee of this year’s Parents’ Appreciation Night. It was a great and different experience, being both a committee member and a participant!
As a committee member, I had a different view of how things should run, especially during our fundraising event for this special night – from working on what we should sell to church members offering to sponsor food items (which sold out within minutes). It was so heartwarming to see church members wanting to support us in any way they could. All of us at CUG had a wonderful and unique experience, something we don’t get often.
On the Parents’ Appreciation Night itself, I was really happy with the turnout of many families, some who may even be pre-believers coming to a church event. Everyone enjoyed the whole night and spent the time well with their family.
My favourite part of the whole event was the video the CUG members made for our parents. The last thing we needed to do for the video was to say “I love you” in a unique way. That elicited tears from some parents since we Asian children rarely say “I love you”. Another special part was when my friends Celes and Lyly sang a song. They were so anxious and practised so hard, and it turned out so well!
As participants, we had to spend time with our parents alone which was rare. During dinner, I felt slightly awkward because we had to ask each other questions from a pre-set list. My parents shared their honest feelings, and it helped me know what they are not happy with sometimes. In addition, through the love language session, my parents got to know me better and how to show me love better. I am grateful for this opportunity because I wouldn’t have been able to do this at home.
I wanna thank my fellow committee members as we worked pretty hard to make the night happen! Thank you to Family Life Ministry for planning the sessions and making this such a memorable event for all of us at CUG!
The Father’s Perspective – Simon Kew
I would like to thank the organizing committee for the Parents’ Appreciation Night 2023 and Family Life Ministry for accomplishing a well-thought and even better executed Appreciation Night. I certainly look forward to many more of such events, so long as at least one of our 3 children remains in CUG.
That said, it was an opportunity to chat with an intensely private daughter as well as to understand her love language(s). It was a rare insight into a parent-child relationship. Admittedly, the Appreciation Night agenda “forced” her to open up to us (and vice versa) and share (however brief) some of her fears and qualities, which would never have otherwise surfaced in any given day. Like me, she is intensely private but we nonetheless thank her for opening up. Trust Pastor Alexa and the rest of the Family Life Ministry team to draw out these discussions in the limited time provided without the need for “spirit”-ual intervention.
The food, while good (especially the pasta), was not the highlight of the Appreciation Night. I am not one for lengthy write-ups but I do hope that my short input will lead towards even more entertaining Appreciation Nights in the future.
Get Involved
🗓️ Are you a college/university student? Block out your Friday nights in 2023 and join their community.
🗨️ Parents, ask your teenager, “If you could see into the future, what would you want to know?”
🗨️ Teens, ask your parents, “What would you do if you had one more day to live?”
📲 Check out a list of things that their parents did to make them feel loved on Facebook / Instagram.